


missions

by KumiiKumii



Category: Underworld Capital Incident (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Drabbles, Gore, Horror, Suicide, lots of gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 04:11:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12203625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KumiiKumii/pseuds/KumiiKumii
Summary: A collection of drabbles, all centred around Kinoshita. Not in any particular order. Enjoy!





	1. mission: playground

The bright primary colours of the playground equipment stood out against the bleak, grey park it was situated in, even though much of the paint was beginning to chip, revealing the rusted metal beneath. Its age showed, and it was not hard to picture the countless feet that used to scamper across the grounds. It was here, in this abandoned playground, where the spirit of a young boy had been reported.

A faint breeze wound its way through, which caused the uniform clad escort visible discomfort. He reached up to gingerly run his fingers over his eye - or rather, where it had once been. A sizeable axe was slung over his shoulder as he scanned the playground with his good eye. At the moment, there was no child to be seen.

Kinoshita headed for the swing sets that had been specified in the file. He cast a glance at the darkening skies - the boy would be appearing soon, he was sure of it.

Moments later, he found that his gut feeling was correct, as the faint outline of a hunched over figure took form, appearing to sit on one of the swings. He was leaning forward, his attention focussed purely on something in his cupped hands. Kinoshita caught a glimpse of something reflecting the waning light - glass. Marbles. Though seemingly harmless, he had been warned of the danger that was hidden in them. The spirit, wishing to vent his feelings of mistreatment, had turned his anger towards the living and constantly bombarded those who came near with his marbles. Surprisingly, several severe injuries had been reported.

"Hello, there, little Hokuto." Kinoshita spoke up, keeping his voice gentle. He didn't want to scare him. "Do you mind coming along with me? Lingering in this world will only make it harder to pass onto the next, you know."

The boy turned his round, brown eyes towards him. Even at a small distance, he could see they were watery, filled to the brim with tears.

"They... were... mean to me..." Hokuto whimpered, sniffling as he held his marbles close to his chest. "Mummy... and daddy... they said they wished I was never born."

The spirit's mournful words tugged at Kinoshita's heart. An escort did not bother themselves with the troubles of the ones they retrieved, but he couldn't help but sympathize with them. There was always a reason why a spirit turned vengeful, and more often than not, there hadn't been a choice in the matter. Hardships and pain shaped them into who they became in the afterlife... but it wasn't his job to judge them. He was just there to escort them.

Kinoshita stretched out a hand.

"I promise you that you're far from them now. They won't hurt you here. You can trust me on that." He said with a smile. Hokuto seemed to take in his words, for he slipped off the swing and shuffled over to him without complaint. His sad eyes stayed locked on Kinoshita's face, and his little body relaxed as he took ahold of his hand.

"Will it be warm..? Where we're going?" Up close, the escort noted the spirit's shivering. He briefly wondered if it had to do with anything, but he shook the thought away.

"Of course. It's not far from here, either." Kinoshita reassured him. "Now, be a good boy and follow me. Lord Enma will decide your fate."

The pair quietly disappeared into the evening; not even a trace of them remained, save for a single glass marble that had rolled beneath the swing set.


	2. mission: mall

Broken tiles cracked underfoot as Kinoshita made his way through the abandoned shopping mall. It was well lit, thanks to the large skylight overhead that provided a natural light source. Even with this aid, there were still parts of the mall that lay in shadows - corners where the light did not dare to touch. Though he could not see anything amiss, he could feel an overwhelming presence.

The mall had been due for demolition for a long time, yet no one had never actually gotten around to it. Instead, it was allowed to sit and wear away into nothingness, bit by bit, piece by piece. Countless spirits had since made it their homes, ever since it was abandoned several years prior. A lot of it was still more or less intact, thanks to its sturdy architecture. It was unknown why it was scrapped, despite being a new addition to the city it was built for. Perhaps it was the cost of running it, or the fact that there were so many other shopping centres in the area... Kinoshita did not know the answer, and he was not particularly interested in knowing. He had a more important job to do, one he could not slack off on. Finding out more information about the mall was something he could do in his spare time, after all. At the moment, he had someone to retrieve.

Aimi was the name of the spirit. She was in her thirties, and had willingly jumped in front of a train, meeting her end in a particularly gruesome manner. It was sad, but it was a common way for people to take their lives. Her emotions had taken over her and she could no longer live with herself... for what reason, he was unsure, but was certain he would soon find out. Even if he did not actively search for the reason, spirits usually stated them out right, or at least alluded to them.

A flicker of movement made him freeze. It was only for a moment, yet he instinctively shifted into a defensive stance. The presence of spirits was nearly suffocating at this point, which meant they were bound to show at any second. He looked around, his grip tightening on his axe.

"Who's there? Show yourselves, you are in the presence of an Underworld escort." Kinoshita spoke aloud. He was answered by a shadow that sped his way, slithering soundlessly across the tiled floor. He had barely enough time to register what it was before he felt a sharp pain shooting through his left hand. He drew it close to his chest and, to his dismay, discovered that the pointer finger had been cleanly bit off. Blood dribbled down between his remaining fingers, leaving a thin line of blood down the back of his hand and his palm.

Kinoshita drew a sharp breath, ignoring the pain. It would grow back, after all, so there was little use in caring about it; especially not when the spirit that had taken it was still circling him, waiting for another chance to strike. He raised his axe, preparing to bring it down on the creature when it slipped away again, returning to the shadows it had come from. His brows knit together in frustration when he heard the sound of giggling coming from above him. He turned his head to look upwards, towards the floor above his head.

A woman with fiery red hair cascading down her shoulders stood, leaning over the railing. She had her head propped up on her arms, her mouth twisted into a huge smile.

"Aren't you a cute one? I've never seen a pet like you around here. All the ones that live here are ugly or gross... I'd love to own you." The woman said, her booming voice echoing. "Why don't you come a little closer so I can see you better? No, wait. I'll just come to you!"

She kicked her legs over the railing and leapt over the side, falling from the second floor to the first. She landed right in front of Kinoshita, who was still clutching his injured hand to his chest. Up close, he could see she was somebody who would easily be considered beautiful. She wore light coloured loose fitting clothes that seemed to float away from her body, giving her an ethereal appearance. Her physique was slim and tall, a body that could invoke jealousy of those who looked upon her fair skin. Such a delicate, pretty woman... yet her mannerisms said otherwise.

Aimi walked up to Kinoshita, her heels clicking hypnotically against the tiles. With painted nails, she reached out, as if to caress his face. Wordlessly, he drew away from her.

"I've come to escort you to the Underworld, Aimi." Kinoshita said, lowering his axe to show he was no threat. "Please, cooperate and come with me. You are to stay no longer in this world."

Her sweet expression turned sour, her face quickly wrinkling.

"What- what do you mean, I have to leave here!? I like it very much here, I'll have you know!" She scowled at him, her eyes filled with fury. "Don't you see?! This is where me and my pets live... my pets, who listen to every word I say and love me! They love me!" 

Hearing her cries, spirits surged forward like well trained hounds. Kinoshita wasted no time pulling his axe up to defend himself once more. The sea of spirits filled his entire vision, blocking his view of Aimi, who was quickly retreating further into the mall. He grit his teeth and prepared himself for a tough battle; there was no way he was going to make it through them all quickly. 

He lost count of how many spirits he cut through. There was a faint twinge of sadness within him as he fought through them. Many of them were ordinary spirits that had simply taken the mall as their own residence. They were driven mad by Aimi's desires and forgot their own peace. Well, it was either them or innocent human lives, and he chose the latter. He was... an escort.

He was yanked away from his thoughts of uncertainty by another intense pain. Yet another digit had been removed. He couldn't let such silly thoughts plague his brain if he wanted to get the mission over with. When it was all over, he could escape back into a bottle of sake and forget about his worries.

After what felt like an eternity, Kinoshita finally made it through the thick mass of spirits, ending up on the other side. Before him stood an escalator, which he climbed, two at a time. A flash of red hair told him he was heading in the right direction.

"Aimi! It is useless to run away. I will bring you to Lord Enma, whether you come willingly or not." He called out to her as he reached the top of the escalator. The spirit reappeared in front of him, scorn flooding her soft face.

"What do you know? You know nothing about me... nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing! If you knew even a single thing about me, you'd let me stay here!" She screeched at him. The malicious spirits were beginning to gather around her again. If he didn't act now, he would lose her again. 

"If you don't come with me right now, you leave me no choice but to take you forcibly. This is your last warning, Aimi." He frowned, taking a step towards her.

"No.... no... no, no..." Aimi's eyes welled up with tears. "Why... Why are you doing this to me? Why won't you let me be happy?" The spirits were growing restless again, stirring around her as she slumped to her knees. "This is... The first time I ever had control... This is the first time anyone has ever considered me powerful... Why do you have to take this away from me? What more do you want from me?"

Kinoshita leapt back as a spirit jumped towards him, its jaws agape. Its teeth narrowly missed his chest.

"Aimi, listen to me! You will atone for the crimes you have committed here. There is no escaping the blood spilt by your hands... you can not be allowed to continue your rampage on the innocent lives of many. Understand this!" He swung his axe in an arc, slicing through a row of spirits with ease. The display of power appeared to have some affect on Aimi, for she cowered in front of him.

"N-no... no... please.. please don't take me away." She begged him, covering her face with her hands. "You don't get it.. you don't get how it feels..."

"..." Kinoshita fell silent, pausing in his attacks to listen to her. She took notice and weakly raised her head.

"No matter how much I tried, nobody took notice. Everyone... looked at her instead. Even though I did my best to stand out, even though I worked twice as hard as she did... She always got all of the attention." Tears ran down her pale face. "Nobody cared about me. They all thought I was boring. Normal. They treated her like a queen while I was kicked to the side like a peasant. Why...? Why did they do that...? We were almost identical in all other ways, and yet she.. She.."

Aimi choked back a sob. Kinoshita walked over to her and crouched down beside her.

"You will be judged by Lord Enma, who will decide the consequences of your actions. Rest assured, your spirit will soon find comfort, no matter what your fate may be. You may be punished now, but you will be forgiven."

Aimi sniffled, wiping her tears with her sleeve. She hesitated before reaching out towards him again, this time, with her arms spread.

Kinoshita stepped away, avoiding the embrace.


	3. mission: factory

The cold, crisp air of the night only added to the forbidding atmosphere of the empty building. The original purpose had been long forgotten over the years, and time had worn down the structure well enough for the wind to pass through it with ease. Usually, in a place like this, a stray spirit or a few would be hanging around, simply existing for their own, solemn purposes... Yet, Kinoshita did feel any other presence besides the one that choked the premises with its icy grip. 

The gravel shifted under his feet with a scraping moan as he stepped up to the entrance of the abandoned factory. He noticed a thin, red trail of liquid slipping out from beneath the door. Upon closer inspection, the blood was fresh. Tentatively, the escort pushed open the door. 

He was not at all surprised by the grim sight that awaited him on the other side. His green eyes calmly looked from wall to wall, taking in the blood stains splattered across them. The metallic scent hung heavy in the air, and seemed to get stronger with every step he ventured into the factory. Every now and then, he came across a small section of the hallway that was clear of blood, but it would soon creep up again. 

The spirit was simply known as Fumi. No other information was given about them, much to Kinoshita's disappointment. Even he doubted his words could have gotten through to them at this point, but there was still a sense of regret present. Had the spirit been taken care of sooner, there might have been a chance they would have listened to reason. 

Well. He had to do his job and get it over with before the spirit hurt anyone else. That was all. 

Squelch. 

Kinoshita froze. His foot had stepped in something unexpected. He looked down slowly and found a misshapen, fleshy mound was spreading under his heel. He withdrew it, realizing it seemed to be some poor soul's missing organ. 

So it's come to this, he thought to himself. He had only heard about the spirit's dismemberment hobby, but it appeared that their interest stretched farther than just limbs. He would have to keep that in mind. 

As he headed closer to the source of all the blood, more and more body parts were scattered across the ground. Fingers, hands, legs... He even spotted a pair of eyeballs, which made his own feel itchy all of a sudden. 

Still deep in thought, he reached the end of the long hallway where a boarded door stood. On the other side of it, he could hear a faint humming sound, like the sound of a machine buzzing. He couldn't help but sigh heavily. Wasn't it just last month when he had a bad run in with one of those?


	4. mission: end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suicide warning. (pre-escort drabble, while Kinoshita was a human)

The forest welcomed him inside, its sinewy, leafy arms stretched wide to accomodate his thin figure. Funny, was it not? He found more comfort amongst the trees which could neither speak nor offer any other form of reassurance that an animate being could. How long had he been walking for now? Surely it hadn't been too long, as the sun was only now settling into its position halfway across the sky... Yet with his legs feeling as though rocks were tied to them, it seemed a much greater distance. 

Kobayashi did not feel anything. He found that he was incapable of it. His mind kept replaying the events leading up to that incident... 

There had been shouting. Lots of it. That, he could vividly recall, along with the bruises that usually followed shortly after. He could not remember a moment in his life where he did not feel unwanted or a burden to his family. He did his best to work hard and help with the harvest, but his best was never enough... No, many a night he laid perfectly still on the uneven ground, squeezing his eyes shut as his stomach's growls drowned out the berating from his parents. It was common practice to sleep without having a meal right before, but when the food was so meager, he felt as if he barely ate at all. Of course, that was normal for everyone. No matter how much harvest they brought in, nearly all of it was taken from them anyway. It was fruitless to try and fight against it - the energy to do so was better spent trying to get through every day. 

But she was different. A splash of hope in his deteriorating life. She was as skeletal and weak as he was, though her smile rivalled those of the well-fed. If he had not known better, he would have convinced himself that she was someone in power, here to mingle amongst the lesser people. 

The thought of her tore a hole in his chest and he stopped in his tracks. 

Her. 

A week before, news had passed throughout their small village. A body had been found by the river, the life snatched out of it as though by a heartless, hungering beast. It was later announced that the individual in question had willingly passed on, by their own choice. He remembered the anguish he felt when he learned who it had been. 

Her. 

Why? Why, why why? Why did it have to be her? It should have been any one else besides her. Him, for that matter! He did not know the reason, but he suspected she, too, could not bear the burden placed on her shoulders and instead figured that one less mouth to feed in her family would solve a few problems. 

Kobayashi's hand shook as anger briefly flooded through him, and he felt the bristles of the rope he had been holding on to dig into his worn palm. He soon loosened his grip and turned his head upwards. She was gone now, and there was little he could do besides accepting that fact. 

And he was going to do it. 

He felt a strange calm sweep over him as he climbed a sturdy, ancient looking free. He carefully secured one end of the rope with a knot and found that his hands were no longer trembling, nor was his heart beating any quicker than before. He almost felt giddy. Relaxed, even. 

It was finally going to be over. 

Something warm and wet rolled down his cheeks, but he did not bother to wipe it away. They were not tears of sorrow or even anger, but tears of joy. 

He was going to be free. 

Free, from this horrid world.

Absolutely nothing could make him feel any happier. No regrets threatened to drag him down; no, he was as light as a feather, and he reckoned he could float away on the breeze if he let himself. The weight was off of him, and he was finally escaping it all. 

No longer would he be a burden to those around him. He would be lost to the forest, and nobody would come looking for him. Him, alone with the trees and the wind, and the sun up high and above. The idea of being completely forgotten, completely absorbed by the silent forest calmed his nerves. 

The rope neatly tightened around his throat.


	5. mission: room

He could hear the rain outside the house, rapping rhythmically against the roof. Here and there, puddles of rainwater had begun to pool in spots in the uneven flooring, indicating that there were hidden holes in the ceiling where the water had seeped through. The damp, musky scent present throughout the building was smothering, masking any other possible smells. The appearance itself was very plain and simple; one had to wonder if a person had really lived there at all, for its incrediblu bland appearance gave off an unusual, unsettling feeling of emptiness. 

The spirit that dwelled here was known as Itaru. He was quickly making a name for himself as a malicious being eager to spill blood, be it human or other. There was a certain thrill that rushed through him with each life he took, one that had been missing while he was alive. From what Kinoshita could tell, Itaru had been some kind of social outcast - isolated by his own family, and shunned by the rest of society. An unfortunate accident involving a vehicle had dragged him into the afterlife, bitter and full of frustration towards humankind. Once he had discovered the power he held over them, he had waited little time abusing them. 

"I know you're here." A voice, hardly concealing its sneer, spoke up. Kinoshita stopped walking and took a moment to pinpoint the direction of it. He turned his head towards a closed door. 

"Why don't you come and see the fruits of my labour? I've been dying to show them off..." 

The escort wasted no time in opening the door. With a solid kick, the door flew open, the flimsy lock clattering to the ground somewhere unseen. He cast his gaze upwards, where a grisly display was in full view. 

Varying organs were strung across the ceiling, hung like herbs left to dry in the sun. The weak light of the lamp in the corner of the room obscured further detail, though the sharp smell of blood cut through the damp air. They must have been freshly harvested, Kinoshita mused to himself, examining the closest organ to him, which happened to be a low hanging intestine. It still dripped with the fluids of whichever unfortunate soul it used to belong to, creating a small pool beneath it. 

Kinoshita turned his attention back to the center of the room, where he could make out a figure on the floor. They appeared to be curled up in a fetal position and clutching their gut, as if in pain. There was a look of frozen horror still on their face, their jaw wide and gaping like a fish. 

"Like what you see? I've always wanted to show someone my collection."

The voice was right behind him. 

"I hope you're not too jealous, there's enough room for you too." 

"Itaru." Kinoshita didn't turn around, instead keeping his eyes on the curled up figure. "I have come to bring you before Lord Enma, who will judge your sins and administer your punishment. Please, come peacefully with me."

"And if I don't?" Another figure came into view, emerging from the shadows. The features were mostly hidden from view, but it was clearly the silhouette of a young man. 

"Then I will have no choice but to take you by force. I would rather not resort to that, however." Kinoshita kept his tone soft. "It would certainly be much more smooth for everyone if you -"

The escort ducked, and a knife whizzed overhead, burrowing itself into the wall behind him. It was the cue for him to take out his own weapon. 

"Well, so be it." Kinoshita sighed heavily.


End file.
